Zeno of Elea

Zeno of Elea (490 BC-430 BC) was a Presocratic Greek philosopher of Magna Graecia and member of the Eleatic school founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic, and he was also known for his paradoxes.

Biography
Zeno of Elea was born in Elea, Magna Graecia in 490 BC, and he visited Athens with his teacher Parmenides in 450 BC. Zeno was skilled with arguing both sides of the question, becoming a universal critic. His arguments were the first examples of a method of proof known as reductio ad absurdum, in which he would break down the dialectical syllogism (logical argument) of his opponents. Zeno was also known for his arguments against the concept of motion, which Aristotle later described. In 430 BC, he conspired to overthrow Nearchus of Elea, and he was tortured by the tyrant in an attempt to force him to give up his colleagues. He refused to give their names, but he promised to tell Nearchus a secret. When Nearchus leaned in to hear it, Zeno bit off the tyrant's ear, so Nearchus had Zeno tortured to death.